Gas-operated machine-gun



E. A. L. BOURDELLES.

GAS OPERATED MACHINE .GUN.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-7,1918.

Patented Sept. 6,1921.

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ALEXANDRE LOUIS BOUBDELLES, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO SOCIETE ANONYME DES ETBBLISSEMENTS DELAUNAY BELLEVILLE, OF ST, D-ENIS, SEI1\TE,

FRANCE, A CORPORATION OF FRANCE.

GAS-OPERATED 'MAon'InneUN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1921.

Application filed January 7, 1918. Serial No. 210,763.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMILE ALEXANDRE LoUIs BOURDELLES, engineer, of 39 Rue Galile at Paris, Department ofhthe Seine, France, citizen of the French Republic, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Gas-Operated Machine-Guns; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip tion of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a gas operated machine gun, and is in the nature of an improvement of the mechanism described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 183,616, filed July 30, 1917.

In this co-pending application it is stated that the feed of the cartridges thereinto is by means of flexible cartridge belts which are made entirely of metal, containing 150 cartridges, the belts being wound on detachable drums revolving on an axis carried by a support fixed to the breech casing. In this co-pending application there is also described a top feed mechanism which is brought about by the rotation of the breech bolt, which actuates a cam or finger on a sliding member. The present invention is an ilnprovemnt in this type of gun, wherein the exact working of the feed is insured by means of the returning breech bolt.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a portion of the machine gun with the invention incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on Fig. 1 showing the cartridge belt;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the mechanism for actuating the cartridge belt;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a differentposition of said actuating means, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are views showing two different positions of the safety catch.

The breech casing is represented in the drawing by the reference numeral 1, the entrance to the barrel by the numeral 2, the operating rod for the breech bolt 4 by the numeral 8, and the cylinder or breech bolt casing by the numeral 5. A lever 9 is pivoted at 7 on the housing and carries at one end a cam 8 which is engageable by the rear part of the cylinder 5 is the backward moveoutwardly normally by a spring 18. This dog 10 engages in'notches in the cartridge belt 10', as illustrated clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawing. The lever 9 carries a projection 14, which extends downwardly andengages a cam element 15, which is slidable through the lever 9 in one direction against the resistance of a spring actuated piston 16. In the other direction the spring of said pis ton moves the lever through the cam 15. The cam element 15 carries a projection 15 which has a cam 15 thereon. This cam controls the action of the safety catch 11 and the retaining catch 12, both of which are pivoted on the same axis, so that when the cam 15 moves in the direction against the action of the piston 16, the cam 15 will permit the latch 11 to operate and consequently look a cartridge belt in the proper position for alinement of a cartridge with the barrel 2. The precise advancement of the belt, corresponding to the distance from one cartridge to the next, is effected in the following manner. During the oscillatory movement of the lever 9, a downwardly projecting lug 14 carried by the forward end there- 'of (Figs. 4 and 5) has carried the cam rod ing thereof. At that moment the cartridge is in alinement with the barrel. It is then inserted into the chamber by the breech bolt 4. During the closing of the breech, the movable breech part being pushed forward again, the back end of the breech bolt casing or cylinder liberates the shoulder 8 of the lever 9. The latter is brought back to its starting position (Figs. 2 and 4) by the thrust of the spring of the piston 16, which, by means of its shoulder, brings back the cam rod 15 connected to the lever 9 by the lug 14. It sometimes occurs that the piston 16 will not return the lever 9 to its proper position to permit the forward movement of the cylinder 5 of the breech bolt. Therefore, to positively position this lever, I have provided a projection 6, which extends upwardly and which is adapted to be engaged by a slot 17 in the lower part of the cylinder 5. It will be seen from Fig. 2 of the drawing that the ends of the slot 17 are cammed to facilitate the entry of the projection 6.

In operation, upon the rearward movement of the breech cylinder 5, the cam 8 is engaged and the lever 9 is actuated to feed the cartridge belt until it is locked in the proper position by the latch 11. The cylinder 5 moves forwardly and releases the pressure from the cam 8, at which time the piston.16 returns the lever to its initial position, or to such position that it will be properly alined by the passage of the projection 6 through the slot 17.

What I claim is:

g a In an automatic gun of the class described,

upon the rearward movement of the cylinder, retaining catches for the cartidge belt, a spring actuated piston for returning the lever to its initial position upon the forward movement of the breech cylinder, and means carried by said lever cooperating with the breech cylinder to positively position said lever.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EMILE ALEXANDRE LOUIS BOURDELLES.

WVitnesses:

CHAS. P. PRnssLEY, FRANCISCO JACOWITZ. 

